So today I decided to after 3 years and 13000 miles clean by headset bearings on the Wilier. I know it was stupid I don't ride in the rain and it was fine but since I was cleaning the brakes might as well clean the headset. So I take the fork out and typical FSA headset. The bearings really seem to be not made to service they are not removable that I could tell. So I clean everything up and applied what grease I could get to the bearings. The thing and caught me was how small of an adjustment preload on the carbon steering tube that would change the feel.


The first check it seemed that the steering was to tight too much preload. So I backed it down and finally got everything A OK. No play in the fork and smoothing turning. My question is really odd but when you have the preload set should you be able to turn your spaces by hand easily? I could before the cleaning and right now again I can grab the 3 spaces and the top headset piece ( has FSA on it) and easily turn them by had has I hold the bars. Of course when I turn the bars they all move at once. Does this sound like typical preload tension?

Integrated Threadless headset?

yes intrigrated

I put one of these directly on top of the upper bearing and cap, Problem Solvers


then the other spacers on to of it .

My headset falls into parts and the fork comes out when stem is loose and top cap bolt is out.

Never had any threadless headset before?

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html..

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...eadset-service


My Bike has Mudguards , if yours does not Take the bottom race out Turn it in your hand, and feel if its got road grit in it.



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I just checked and I'm not able to turn the spacers on any of my bikes. I'd take it apart again and make sure nothing is interfering with the compression. Unless someone who actually knows something comes along with an explanation....

Can I rotate my spacers after the stem bolts are tightened? No, not at all, on two different bikes.

I just barely tighten down the headset cap, straddle the bike, lock the front brakes, and rock the bike forward and back. It's easy to feel the "click" when the bearings are too loose.

My old bike needed almost no force on the Y wrench when tightening the cap. My newer bikes need a little more tightening force, but it's still easy pressure with two fingers.

Is your stem, or whatever spacers on top of your stem, 3-5 mm above the steering tube, so that your top cap is fully compressing the spacers?

The smaller the rolling element (the balls) the more sensitive to preload the headset will be. To fit bearing cartridges inside a headtube and outside of large diameter steerers the parts need to be small. Also the angle of contact the balls have between the races come into play.


Long story short, yes, some headset designs have very little range of best preload. And the best preload is nearly none. Start the adjusting process with the headset a tad loose then tiny bit by tiny bit loosen the sten pinch bolts and snug up (remember tiny bit) top cap and retighten the pinch bolts. Test the adjustment having slop by applying the front brake and rocking the bike fore and aft. You should be able to feel the slop if the adjustment is loose, placing a finger at the gap between the fixed (head tube) and the moving (steerer mounted parts) helps to feel this slop. When the headset is properly adjusted the slop will just have disappeared. the problem with trusting the swing of the fork is that there is a lot of leverage the wheel and bars have over the bearings. The fork can feel easy to swing yet the bearings can be too tightly set. Headset adjusts are harder to get best then many (who haven't done one) think they should be. Andy.

That sounds like no pre-load tension.

This may only apply to cartridge bearing headsets but Cane Creek publishes a factory preload recommendations of 10-15 inch-pounds and Chris King recommends 4-10 inch-pounds measured at the top cap tension bolt. This isn't a lot of preload but it isn't "none" either.

Tightened to these specs, the spacers under my stem are very difficult to rotate and the fork has no play when rocked against a locked front brake but the fork turns freely with no drag or binding. The CK headset I've always tighten to their recommended preload has 37,000 miles so far and shows no signs of wear or roughness.

I'd think you may have a sealing ring improperly installed/crooked... even the tiniest preload will cause binding when one of those gets crooked in there... the headset bearings SHOULD be able to take SOME side-loading from the steering tube, before there is any notable resistance in turning! My point is this... SOMETHING is not correct, from what you've described! Take it back apart, and INSPECT EVERYTHING again.

It is fine I checked again and there is no play in the fork with the brakes locked. Seated correct and the steering turns free and without binding or grinding. These are very small bearings so not much to applying to much preload.

What seems interesting is just a little under preload then you get a bit of play in the fork. Just a little too much and it will bind and be rough turning. What I notice is that when turning the spacers all move with the steering but if I hold the spacers while turn they can be held in place while the steering column will turn the bike. It did that before too and my other bike has intigrated headset does same thing.